News
The overall volume of containerized shipments handled in international car ferry services was steady in 2011, going up 5.8% year on year to 581,000 TEUs, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs （MLTM）.
On the trade between South Korea and Japan, throughput was sluggish due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, the subsequent nuclear accident and the appreciation of the Japanese yen, decreasing 3.7% to 108,000 TEUs.
On the other hand, container movement was favorable on the South Korea/China trade, improving 8.6% to 434,000 TEUs, which was a year-on-year increase for two years in a row.
At a time when the shipping market was stagnant, carriers catering to the trade made various efforts to develop niche markets and to win new contracts, increasing transshipment （T/S） cargoes so notably as to offset a decline in local shipments.
Currently, a total of 21 car ferry services link South Korea with China, Japan and Russia. More precisely, 15 services are operated with 15 vessels between South Korea and China, five services with 14 vessels between South Korea and Japan, and one service with one vessel among South Korea, Japan and Russia.
